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Double- Bladed Lightsabers

What I want to know is why don't they use double-bladed lightsabers in the trilogy . It seems like a more sophisticated weapon . It seems like they would use them more in the trilogy than in the first few episodes . Why is this ?

Hmmm...maybe GL never thought of this b4?? Anyway, there is an EU comic book (I think its The sith War/Tales of the Jedi) in which a sith lord / former jedi, uses a double bladed saber, but in EU terms speaking, that was at least 4000+yrs. b4 Episode I.

In the classic trilogy there were 3 jedi and a sith. Vader and Obi-Wan didn't really need double bladed sabers. Vader because he could just use the force to crushhis enemies. OB1 because he basically was in hiding and nobody knew he was alive. Yoda, well just look at him, he's old and it's hard for him to move around.
Luke neede a saber fast and couldn't make a double bladed saber fast enough.

The double-bladed saber has a lot of limitations, one has to be three times as careful using one of those rather than a single-bladed saber to avoid cutting one's self; to keep in mind the defense limitations of the large, exposed handle; and to remember to move around as much as possible so as not to get caught slowing up with both hands weilding the blade. The saber is much larger thus requires a lot of thought when making a strike (any strike you make will also bring the other blade back towards your body), it's not as agile as a smaller-handled single-bladed saber so you end up with a lot less room to move around, you can't fight as well in smaller, contained spaces, and you have to keep in mind that your opponent has a weapon that can cut your weapon in half, and if they lunge an inch further, can cut you in half.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Originally posted by stillakid Naw, the definite answer is that GL didn't think of it way back then. I'll even wager a couple bucks to say that it probably became a reality after Ray Park showed up and showed him the possibilites.

Probably the most plausible explanation. Just like Threepio's english butler personality coming straight from Anthony Daniels' interpretation of GL's script.

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence… When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - C.S. Lewis

Think of it another way, do you see a lot of samurai or ninja concepts with double-bladed swords? No, you don't, as far as I know, there aren't many double-bladed fixed-hilt swords in ANY sword-developing society because they're a huge pain in the arse to weild and because they are much harder to use as an extension of the arm (which is vital to swordfighting). Besides, look how easily Obi-Wan wiped out Maul's double-saber when he put his mind to it, and that was simply because of the writing, there are several logical instances where Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan could have hit the hilt of Maul's saber but didn't because it wasn't convenient to the story.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Though the almost certain fact that GL had no concept of a double bladed sabre before EI is fairly obvious, if you have to have a SW specific explanation, here is one that is simple and straightforward.

The Jedi would naturally not want a weapon as "clumsy" as a double bladed sabre. The single blade is sufficient to do the maxiumum amount of necessary damage in the hands of a skilled master. An important note about the mastery of a lightsabre of any kind is that, though it has not bee explored to my knowledge, I don't think just anyone can use a sabre with the skill of a Jedi (or Sith). In other words, not just anyone could fend off a hail of blaster fire, just because the sabre is capable of deflecting the bolts, doe not mean that the one weilding the weapon is capable enough to manage the task. Anyway, the bottom line is that, unlike Vader, Maul is a young and impetuous type. Ideal fodder for the Dark Side, but there are disadvantages. You can see a lot of Maul's true colors in his remarks about finally being able to revenge the Sith (quite proud to be the instrument of that vengance) and the over-confidence he displays in the final duel (Qui-Gon meditates while Maul paces like a caged lion about to be loosed on a helpless prey). Note also the look of complete surprise on Maul's face when all his skill and confidence avail him not and he has the unmistakalbe realization that his body had been "clept in twain".
The bottom line is that Maul's double bladed sabre is a terror weapon. The Sith had been in hiding for generations and no single agent had ever been able to openly opperate. From the shadows, Maul would choose a variation on the Jedi weapon that would strike the most fear on sight. And that he chose a weapon as potentially dangerous to the weilder as to his foe, is just another testiment to his overconfidence. Vader did not need weapons of terror. He was a true master of his craft, and the fact that he and Emperor Palpitine held the galaxy in sway under an iron fist didn't hurt matters in the least. By the time of the trilogy, very few sabres were still in use (as we've seen) and threfore there was no need for terror variations.
Finally, that Maul appears to be the only one to weild such a version of a lightsabre suggests it was his own, unique flourish. Something that suited his personal nature.

"Does the name "Dingo" mean anything to you?" - Jedi Boulton to DingoDad at the October Dallas ComiCon.